The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord kicks off a new Season of Ordinary Time. This period between Christmas and beginning of Lent orders our thoughts on the meaning of Christ’s mission in the Church.

With the His baptism, Jesus begins his public ministry and the story of His mission also begins to unfold. These next few weeks gives us an opportunity to look into the mission entrusted to Jesus as seen through the eyes of St. Mark, the Evangelist.

The whole of Mark’s Gospel answers the central question, “Who is Jesus, the Christ?” St. Peter and the centurion at the foot of the Cross will confirm the answer: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mk 15:39)

Prior to these two important statements (Peter’s & the Centurion’s) there was a lot of speculation about who Jesus was. With that speculation came much confusion. Mark’s Gospel is important because it sets the record straight. We clearly come to know who Jesus really is and why he came to earth to do his work.

In the spirit of this sense of clarification over the next several weeks as I write to you, I will keep a focus on Catholic practices. My intent is to clear up misconceptions about the sacraments, spiritual practices, and core meanings of our faith.

An example to look forward to is the clarification of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and why it is no longer called the Last Rites. So stay tuned there is more to come.